Round 5: Fremantle v Richmond – Defeat’s not as bad from home

It’s looking like another grim football season for the Allan household.

I decide this as my “other” side of the family watch their under performing Hawks remarkably lose to the predicted cellar dwellars North Melbourne.

I can’t help but think back to 2008, when the season ended with my Tigers, finishing just outside the eight, poised to enter september next season while the other side celebrated a premiership, favourites to retain their title the following year. How times have changed.

What is arguably more remarkable, is that Fremantle, the team that has the honour of whipping the Tigers tonight, has only lost one match this season. And that was againjst the flag favourites in a hard fought contest. Who would’ve thought at the start of the year that teams would be fearing the names Mundy, Haselby, Broughton, Ballentyne and Barlow. Not to mention Pavlich and Sandilands!

For the first time this year Mum and I will be watching the beating from home. The beauty of Foxtel is that we never miss a Richmond game, the negative is we have to put up with Glen Jakovich’s woeful special comments, I’ll be surprised if he knows any Richmond players besides Deledio, Cousins, Foley and Tambling.

The game starts very surprisingly. Richmond are tackling hard and Freo look sloppy. De Boer misses easy goals while Nahas does an extroadinary peice play. Receiving a handpass from Vickery he runs along the wing handballing and getting it back from Foley. He then finds Tambling short on the half forward flank. Tambling waits for an option until remarkably, he finds Nahas open in the goal square leading to him kicking an easy goal for his hard work.

Dustin Martin kicks Richmond’s second goal, my celebration is ruined when Glen Jakovich tells BT that Luke McGuane kicked the goal. How anybody could mistake those two is beyond me, I’d espically love to know why Jackovich, a former defender would think that a full backman would be crumbing ruck contests in the attacking goal square.

I put the blooper behind me as Nahas and Rance (yes that’s right Rance) continue to apply scoreboard presure while Freo continue to make the goal umpire run either side of the goal posts.

The run of behinds is finally stopped by my favourite Docker Stephen Hill. The Tigers momentum is finally killed but luckily before the Dockers can take advantage the quarter time siren sounds.

In the second term reality hits. Freo step up as Richmond step down. Pavlich leads from the front and starts kicking straight. Jack Riewoldt has interestingly been moved to the loose man in defence and seems to be struggling.I don’t see the point in moving our best forward to defence ,especially when it’s clear that he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

But what annoys me most is our kicking in from behinds. We seem to kick it to the same side every time where Sandilands is standing to take an easy mark. It seems idiotic that our best kicks, Deldio and Newman, should be forced to play such idiotic tactics.

At half time Richmond hasn’t added any goals to their quarter time score. If the debuting Docker Fyfe had kicked truly after the siren the Tigers would be losing like they should be.

Sadly the rest of the match just plays out like everybody would expect. Freo continue they’re dominance while Richmond cops the beating people expected. As usual we just roll over. Richie Tambling ecapes copping flack for his poor game by going down injured, he may have just saved himself from a spell in the VFL. Troy Talor is the next to go down so Richmond just run out of legs.

Shane Tuck bluffs a Tiger comeback but it isn’t long before Freo come charging with goals. It isn’t long before it’s out to 40 points. It’s hard to beleive we we’re leading by four goals at quarter time.

Mum and I watch the game out to the end just like every week, but it is a little easier this week. We’re already home, no long train ride home packed full of depressed Richmond fans or drive home listening to “expert callers” analysing how terrible Richmond this week. We’re already home, we’ve already put it behind us. Bring on Geelong.

Fremantle 1.5 4.12 10.19 15.22 (112)
Richmond 6.1 6.4 9.5 11.7 (73)

GOALS

Fremantle Pavlich 4, Ballentyne 3, Sandilands 2, Crowley, Hill, De Boer, Haslbey, Fyfe
Richmond Rance 3, Nahas 3, Riewoldt 2, Martin, Taylor, Tuck

BEST
Fremantle Sandilands Barlow, Pavlich Mundy, Ballentyne,
Richmond Foley, Deledio, Nahas, Collins

Comments

  1. Good report Mike, It’s great to see Foley back.

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